ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Monday admitted for hearing a petition seeking initiation of contempt of court proceedings against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for his alleged contemptuous remarks against the judiciary in a speech on August 25.
IHC judge Mohsin Akhter Kiyani admitted the petition, moved by Makhdoom Niaz Inqalabi and Abrar Raza, for regular hearing after initial arguments. The court will take up the matter on November 1.
The petitioners have cited Nawaz Sharif, the federal information secretary and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority chairman as respondents. They contended that Sharif committed contempt of court in his August 25 speech in Lahore and he spoke about the ‘collusion’ of the judiciary and the ‘establishment’, which was an insult to the judiciary.
They said that during the speech held at a lawyers’ convention in Aiwan-e-Iqbal, Sharif criticised the Supreme Court’s July 28 verdict.
The petitioners said that hitting out at the judiciary, Sharif said: “Our courts have been condoning the rule of dictators and allowing changes to the Constitution. Some judges deviated from their oath and supported dictators. No dictator has been punished for abrogating the Constitution. We need to establish sanctity of the ballot box.”
They submitted that Sharif had constantly been criticising the Supreme Court judges, which not only constituted contempt of the court but also violated the Constitution. They maintained that Sharif was bent on endangering the democratic system and requested the court to restrain him from criticising the judiciary and direct the Pemra from airing his contemptuous speeches.
The petitioners prayed to the court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the former prime minister for his ‘anti-judiciary rhetoric’.
